Press release

Evonik and Borussia promote unparalleled action in Brazil

Between February 26th – 28th, seven coaching staff members of the German soccer team Borussia Dortmund (BVB) – sponsored by Evonik – will be in Brazil for the project BVB Evonik Soccer School. The action that focuses on training young athletes already takes place in other countries but will have a special format in Brazil.

Evonik, one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies, has partnered with BVB in a social oriented project with the intent of leaving a legacy through knowledge. In order to achieve that, the project will act on the basic formation of players in Brazil by granting the participation of 100 children aged 7 to 13 years. They will participate in the Clube Pequeninos do Jockey social project in São Paulo with 60 soccer coaches, who coach in the junior’s category and participate in social work and soccer schools.

The knowledge the Borussia coaching staff will share with Brazilian instructors and coaches will be replicated to the maximum number of children possible to increase the reach of the project.

Weber Porto, Evonik’s Regional President for South America, highlights: “If each instructor that participates in the project coaches 50 children on average in their community work, we will have the opportunity to expand this knowledge to 3,000 children. By taking the advantage of BVB’s coaches visit, we intend to really leave a long lasting, life-changing legacy that will change the perception of everyone involved.”

Formers in formation (Formadores em formação)
The project will be launched on February 26th with a workshop led by the BVB coaching staff team and directed to the 60 coaches from social work projects, NGOs, and soccer schools from needy communities. The event will take place at the Soccer Museum at Pacaembu Stadium, in São Paulo.

On February 27th, the instructors will attend the all-day theoretical and practical training provided to the children. The activities will encompass not only the technical skills (dribbling, passing, finishing, etc) but also social behavior and other sport education related topics.

The wrap up of the program will be on the 28th with the participation of children of Evonik employees and special guests (BVB Evonik Experience Day). They will join a training session under Borussia coaches’ supervision. All the children involved in the project will receive a certificate of participation and a special soccer jersey.

Frequent Fans This will be BVB Evonik Soccer School’s first initiative in South America. Their choice of Brazil is very welcome as many Brazilian soccer fans identify themselves with BVB. The “Borussia Dortmund Brasil” fan page at Facebook has more than 33,000 fans that interact frequently and are very engaged.

The club’s official Facebook page has more than 800,000 Brazilian followers, which makes BVB often publish posts in Portuguese. Brazil is only second to Germany in popularity on the page.

The team’s post “Happy Children’s Day and a great holiday to all black-and-yellow fans in Brazil” from last Oct 12th, got 22,000 likes and showed how important it is to engage fans outside Germany as well.

Borussia Dortmund’s fans are well known all over the world for the huge passion for their team and massive attendance at the matches. The club has the highest audience average in Europe: more than 80,000 fans each home game. The expectation around here is that this action renders an intense and unique experience with highly qualified coaches from one of the most famous and well liked international teams in Brazil.

About BVB Evonik Soccer School The BVB Evonik Soccer School provides a fantastic opportunity for all football-mad children and teenagers. You will experience football at its purest and have fun in our training courses, where our BVB coaches will show you everything that stars like Marco Reus and Nuri Sahin learnt in their youth.

The training is based on the sporting concept of the BVB Youth Department, a concept we use to consistently improve the footballing performance of our participants. In addition to football-specific content such as dribbling, tricks, shooting, etc., our coaches also convey the fun side of football.

All football-mad boys and girls are very welcome to attend our courses, no matter whether skillful football players or beginners. With a view of the most beautiful stadium in the world, the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, you can perform your favourite pastime and get a taste of Bundesliga life. The courses we offer aim to improve the footballing technique of the individual participants. For this reason we have various different offers in order to be able to develop all children as best as we can.

About Pequeninos do Jockey (Jockey Club’s Little Ones) The Clube Pequeninos do Jockey (Jockey Club’s Little Ones Soccer Team) was founded on May 21st, 1970 in São Paulo. At that time it was formed by children of the São Paulo Jockey Club staff and started the path of a team that throughout the years has become one of the most important formers of soccer players in Brazil. Nowadays, Pequeninos is the base club with the most championships in the country and the only Brazilian soccer school on FIFA’s website. Their teams travel around the world yearly participating in the most important tournaments.

José Guimarães Junior, a.k.a. Guima, the founder of the club, is a well-known personality in the soccer scene and has been invited to be one of the torch bearers of the 2016 Olympic Games. His supportive attitude of sports and education is conveyed by his ever popular Pequeninos motto: “Good at soccer? Better at school! (Bom de bola? Melhor na escola!)“ .

About Evonik
Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals, operating in the Nutrition & Care, Resource Efficiency and Performance Materials segments. The company benefits from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. In 2014 more than 33,000 employees generated sales of around €12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about €1.9 billion.

Disclaimer
In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.